I am in the midst of planning an extended family camping trip - a venture that will, hopefully, include at least six different households and bring cousins together for more than just a few hours of chit chat. Family reunions and get-togethers are nothing new; it's been an American tradition for decades. The trouble I'm encountering is getting my family members to commit to a date that is far enough in the future to guarantee the number of camping sites we'll need in a nice location.

The success of food banks is based on relationships in local communities with individuals, faith-based organizations, retailers and food service businesses -just to name a few. Additional partnerships with food producers and processors assist with sourcing local, fresh foods that can be provided to needy families. Some of these relationships have innovative roots, and fairs are an example of that.

Whenever I travel back to my hometown in Indiana, the first thing I notice as the airplane makes its decent into Indianapolis is the vast swath of green that seems to cover the entire state. You don't realize how few trees actually grow naturally in California's Central Valley until you see an aerial view of Midwest lushness.

Like many people around the world, I am a fan of science fiction. The genre asks the question "what if?" and then allows for an infinite number of answers. What if is fun to ponder, but a new scientific development - and the implications of its usage - have me wondering, should we?